The Navigator Vol 47 Issue 08

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Vol 47

JA N UA RY 26 FREE

navigator VA NCOU V ER ISL A ND U NI V ERSIT Y ST U DEN T PR ESS

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Staying sober: Inside Nanaimo's private centre

Star Wars review

Profile: Myles Mattila

At Edgewood, we were taught that addiction was an actual disease, not a moral failing or lack of willpower, as many people believe.

This entry feels more the beginning of a new trilogy than a rehashing of the original.

You wouldn’t think that hockey and mental health go together, but with lots of time spent on the road and away from family, those in the sport don’t have it easy.

contents

news

features 08

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08 04 history for the Re-learning future

08 Editorials

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05 Get networking, get recognition, get prizes, and get creative Let's Get Consensual: Building the campaign

VIU(SU) Services

Arts and Humanities Colloquium presents "Meridian" on January 22

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14 08 08best things of 2015 04 The

15 Things to watch for (or not) in 2016

18 Profile: Myles Mattila

19 08 04 schedule Mariners' Mental Health Matters: Self-care reminder Boules au caroube (Carob balls)

Point of VIU Everyday Earth: Spirituality in an age of science

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Headline highlights of 2015

arts

Staying sober: Inside Nanaimo's private treatment centre

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sports & lifestyle

Rise of the dispensaries

16 Star Wars: A franchise reawakening

20 The spoonful of sunshine caffeine alternative Try something new: Campus Rec activities for every level

17 Canadian rockers get nostalgic

Shake it off: Quakin' in our homes

21 Nanaimo Clippers vs. Powell River Kings

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New Year's in Nanaimo

23 Calendar

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CONTRIBUTORS Reid Eccles Gordon Hak Brandon Kornelson Zoe Lauckner Don Mattila Jeff Sieniewicz

Spenser Smith Chantelle Spicer Rob Wilson

THE NAVIGATOR WELCOMES READER CONTRIBUTIONS

THE NAVIGATOR IS Molly Barrieau Editor-in-Chief

Emily Johnston Graphic Designer

Antony Stevens Associate Editor

Avery Crosson Graphic Designer

Kaytee Davis Art Director

Gabby Fleming Ad/Sales Rep

Natalie Gates News Editor

Shaina Bolduc Ad/Sales Rep

Catherine Charlebois Sports & Lifestyle Editor

Megan Wolfe Social Media Sp.

Brendan Barlow Arts Editor

Lynne Williams Bookkeeper

Kelly Whiteside Production Manager

Christine Franic Business Manager

You don’t have to be a journalist to get published in The Navigator.

We encourage creators to submit poetry, art, comics, photo essays, editorial cartoons, and coverage of events on campus.

Send any inquiries or content to <editor@thenav.ca> or visit <thenav.ca>.

All submissions must be original work of the author. Editors reserve the right to refuse submissions, and to edit for space or clarity. Letters to the editor should be no more than 400 words in length. The Navigator does not pay for letters. Opinions expressed in The Navigator are expressly those of the author and/or artist and do not reflect the views of The Navigator staff.

Lori Shwydky Copy Editor

900 Fifth St. Bldg. 193, rm. 217 Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5S5 T: 250-753-2225 F: 250-753-2257

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editorials

Ch-ch-ch-changes Molly Barrieau Editor-in-Chief

Hey, welcome back. Now, before you start looking at those outlines and schedules, I’d like to introduce you to my new roster. Yes, the Navigator has experienced a shift and I am pleased to announce that the masthead is no longer an all-girls party (excluding web). This newspaper completely benefitted from having a woman-dominated staff for the last seven issues, and we have grown to be a strong, well-oiled machine, writing, editing, designing, and printing every two weeks.

However, as a university campus paper, things change all the time. The shifting staff affects the content each year, and I look forward to what our new editors can bring to the 24 pages and brand new website for the next seven issues.

First, I’d like to introduce <thenav.ca>, a trusted source for every story we cover, along with videos, and an interactive calendar. While this site has been around for a while now, it has recently gone under the knife, getting a new face. We want to make sure our site is on par (or surpassing) the kinds of news sites you already browse, including our competition campus papers. Check it out, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @theNav_VIU. Second, the web surgeon/page-filler extraordinaire Antony Stevens will be joining the Nav again, this time taking on two jobs as he completes his Creative Writing degree. Stevens will be Associate Editor (see below), writing an editorial with me, finding contributors (that could be you), and filling our centrefold (spread) with timely, interesting, and researched features. Check out his first spread: “New Years in Nanaimo,” on page 13. Also check out Stevens’ brand-spankin’-new video game review website <clipthrough.com>.

Third, we unfortunately had to say goodbye (more like see you soon) to Alyssa Morton, a friend, and wonderful Arts Editor. In her place, the Nav welcomes back Brendan Barlow, former Social Media Producer for the newspaper’s volume 45.

Barlow brings insight into movies, music and the arts with his experience reviewing horror on his blog <barleydoeshorror. com>. This issue, Barlow will provide his list of the best of 2015, and a preview of what is to come in 2016, along with my article on Ryan Gullen, bassist of The Sheepdogs, a rock band from Saskatchewan, coming to Nanaimo with their new album Future Nostalgia on February 21.

Lastly, I want to introduce you to my girls. My irreplaceable, wonderfully-talented remaining staff with whom I could not publish without. Kaytee, Emily, and Avery—my Queen and her minion—who tirelessly create the cover and spread, and place each story perfectly; Catherine and Natalie, aka Cat and Nat, who have embraced the challenge of writing news and sports with curiosity and vigour. Kelly, the yin to my yang, keeping this newspaper so unbelievably free of mistakes, taking over the calendar, and editing for hours to make sure our future portfolios shine. Lori, without whose help, none of the above would be possibly done by 5 p.m.; and Megan, who has opened the Navigator to the increasingly important component of journalism in social media.

There you have it. We are small, but mighty. Stay tuned to our Facebook for details on a giveaway for tickets to The Sheepdogs in concert, and for the Maclean’s university issue, where our very own Natalie Gates will be featured, giving incoming students the Inside Scoop across the country.

Crate Hatin’ Antony Stevens Associate Editor

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EDI TOR I A L S

Subscription crate boxes currently exist in two distinct realms: there are food crates, and then there are random-shit crates.

The food crates sort of make sense—get a bunch of snacks and/ or candy sent to your doorstep for a convenience charge. You get a bunch of stuff that you could have bought if you lived in a big city with an import store or with a bit of effort in seeking them out. For a lot of people, the crates on their doorstep is the only way they’re ever going to get around to trying these new snacks and/or candy. But I’ll bet my bottom dollar that 99 per cent of the food crates aren’t actually curated. It’s just whatever snack company decides to hand the crate box company some money for that month—likely either a desperate company (and therefore a maker of a dull food), or a super rich company whose marketing and distribution campaign can afford to put them in the crate because they are already distributed everywhere— I’m looking at you Japan Crate and Pocky.

Maybe it’s impossible from a business standpoint, but I’d be far more inclined to subscribe to a food crate if I knew that someone hand selected the snacks and/or candies because they are interesting and varied, and that every month was going to be a completely unique experience. Maybe crates like that already exist, but are impossible to find because the same eight boring crates keep popping up in every Google search because people keep giving the same eight boxes money. There are some crates that do themes, but, again, they aren’t distinct enough

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when they’re just delivering variants of similar products every time around—I’m looking at you Loot Crate and Funko.

Speaking of—Loot Crate is one of those random-shit crates.

The themes are loose and the content is repetitive. I don’t know anyone that has stayed with a subscription crate for longer than six months, if that, because of how repetitive they become.

And these types of crates suffer from the same problems of curation; it’s just a giant circlejerk of the same companies, and they never feature something genuinely interesting. Maybe there’s something fun, or funny, but absolutely nothing is worth keeping.

It boils down to the fact that subscription crates are marketed to the wrong people. Mainstream crates are aimed towards the everyman, but it’s not the everyman that crates benefit. There’s an untapped potential in hobbyist crates and collector crates—a subscription service that sends a random Magic expansion to your door or a crate filled with Lego bricks. There are attempts at these (Fantasy Crate, and Brick Loot respectively), but they fail because they aren’t officially licenced and have to be sold at an inflated price.

Crates have potential; I love it every time a package arrives from Amazon. That’s the feeling that subscription crates try to replicate, but, despite the veneer, there is no element of surprise in opening a crate every month just to find a new label on an old dog.

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GET NETWORKING, GET RECOGNITION, GET PRIZES, AND GET CREATIVE Natalie Gates

If you have made a New Year’s resolution to gain more professional experience or showcase The Navigator your hard work, VIU’s CREATE Conference might be just the thing you need.

With the intention to represent the diversity of student work, the annual VIU CREATE Conference gives students of all programs the opportunity to showcase their major projects. On March 30, students are invited to present displays and participate in oral presentations to highlight their efforts and accomplishments.

The event aims to give students a chance to earn experience; credentials; networking opportunities with community members, students from various departments, and faculty members; as well as cash prizes. It also allows students to strengthen their public speaking and poster-making skills, spark research curiosity, and build their resumes and research portfolios. To aid in the display creations, there is free poster printing available through the Research and Scholarly Activity Office for participants.

“I believe the biggest benefit for students is the opportunity to gain experience to add to their cover letter or resume,” said coordinator Kathryn Jepson. “Participation in events like this are recognized in scholarship applications, graduate school, and future career endeavours, and being able to communicate your ideas and

disseminate knowledge clearly is a valuable skill to acquire. It’s also a free and friendly environment.”

Students can participate in one, several, or all of the events, which include posters and displays, performances, presentations, and the Scholarship Slam. To strengthen your display or presentation, VIU offers several workshops in poster design and oral presentation. A full list and details of these can be found at <viu.ca/research/create/ workshops>.

In addition to recognition and the chance to make professional relationships and gain experience, there are several awards to be won. These include: the People’s Choice Best Poster Award, People’s Choice Best Presentation Award, Meritorious Best Poster Award, Meritorious Best Presentation Award, and the Scholarship Slam Award. First place will receive $500, second will get $100, and third will win a $50 gift card to the VIU Bookstore.

If research is not in its final stage by the start of the conference, students are welcome to present problems, ideas, hypotheses, methodologies, and preliminary data they have to date; in addition, multiple author presentations are accepted.

For a full description of each of the events, visit <viu.ca/research/ create/participate>. Online registration will be available shortly.

Let’s Get Consensual: Building the campaign

UVic’s Let’s Get Consensual Campaign.

Courtesy of UVic Youtube

Natalie Gates

looks like,” Graham said. “It can even be learning to say things like, ‘Hey, can I shake your hand?’ because some people don’t like being touched. It can be things we don’t often think about but still need consent for.”

There will be several workshops built around recognizing consent; once they are created and practiced by the Students’ Union Board of Directors, others that are interested in getting involved in the campaign will be able to take part. “Then, hopefully, we will be able to run them at Frosh in September,” Graham said.

Graham explained that UVic’s campaign has a strong partnership with the institution and anti-violence organizations, which VIU is hoping to develop as well. As a response to the recent controversial sexual assault accusations at UBC, where the university took more than a year and a half to act against a grad student despite growing complaints of harassment or sexual assault by at least six women on campus, VIU is taking initiative.

“VIU is creating a sexual assault steering committee, which I’ll be on, as well as people from residence, and counselling,” Graham said. “VIU doesn’t currently have any policies that

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VIU’s Let’s Get Consensual Campaign is paving the road for progress in The Navigator combating sexual assault.

In September, VIUSU’s Women’s Representative Connie Graham announced she wanted to follow in the footsteps of the UVic campaign and build a stronger presence of informative actions on the reality of sexual assault on campus. Now, through the VIU Women’s Collective, Graham is planning several opportunities for VIU students and staff to educate themselves on strategies for combating this issue.

“In early December, VIUSU had representatives from UVic do a detailed presentation of the campaign at VIU, which was unanimously voted in by the Board,” Graham said. She then started creating buttons and info sheets to spread the word.

Now, Graham is launching a film screening of The Hunting Ground, a documentary on rape culture to be shown on campus on January 20 at 7 p.m. in bldg. 355, rm. 203. She is also organizing various short videos on issues and statistics of sexual assaults on campuses to be made available on social media.

“Central points of the campaign focus on what consent

focus on how to deal with sexual assaults, so we will develop those policies.”

In addition to VIU’s growing support of the campaign, the Canadian Federation of Students-BC (CFS-BC) has endorsed it as well, putting forth a motion for all of its members to adopt the campaign.

Complementing the campaign, Graham has also organized a positive body image event for students, where women can participate in photo sessions and receive free prints and a CD with their photos. The women will be photographed by a VIU student, who is also a professional photographer, on January 28 and 29 in bldg. 355.

The Women’s Collective will have their first meeting of the semester on January 12, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the student lounge of bldg. 355. The following one will be on January 28, at the same time and place. Sign up sheets for the photo sessions and more information on the film screenings will be available there, as well as in the Students’ Union office. You can also email Graham at <women@viusu.ca> and request to join the Facebook page, VIUSU Women’s Collective, to stay up to date.

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ARTS AND HUMANITIES COLLOQUIUM. PRESENTS “MERIDIAN” ON JANUARY 22.

The group on stage. Left to right: Kevin Mazutinec, Marian Van der Zon, Justin McGrail, and Robin Davies.

In its six-year history, the Arts and Humanities Colloquium Contributor Lecture Series has pushed limits, encouraging us to think about new things as well as old things in new ways. The upcoming presentation promises again to stretch boundaries. The talk and show, entitled “Meridian.is: Collaborative Performance Research,” brings together four faculty members from three departments.

The collective features Robin Davies (electronic music), Kevin Mazutinec (digital video and animation), Justin McGrail (spoken word), and Marian van der Zon (instruments). As a foursome, they combine projected video, ambient soundscapes, acoustic instruments, processed and looped vocals, and poetry. The goal, says Robin Davies, “is to immerse the audience in themes of technology, humanity, and their offspring.” It stimulates eyes, ears, and minds.

“Meridian” is all about collaboration, and it is this aspect of the process that will be discussed at the presentation. According to Davies, “the collaborators view performances as iterative publications, meaning that the components in the work are continuously formed, nurtured, and revised at the individual and team level.

Each step of the team’s process—including workshopping, rehearsal, gigging, and reacting to diverse audiences and venues—allows for instantaneous exploration and meditation necessary for individual growth as an artist.

Reflective process is inherent in ‘Meridian’s’ collaborative creativity.” The participants view their studio practices as central to their professional research obligations, and to them “the academic mandate to publish is subsumed by a desire to produce and perform art.”

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In addition to the exploration of the collaborative process behind “Meridian”, using examples from the work to show how it fits together, the presentation will also include a short performance.

Since its inception in 2012, “Meridian” has been performed in Courtenay, Nanaimo, Victoria, Hamilton, and Toronto. A recent performance at a conference at UVic shared Meridian with an international audience of humanities scholars.

The participants have impressive backgrounds. Marian van der Zon, from the Media Studies and Women’s Studies departments, has been involved in radio for over a decade, hosting shows and contributing sound art and radio

THE GOAL, SAYS ROBIN DAVIES, “IS TO IMMERSE THE AUDIENCE IN THEMES OF TECHNOLOGY, HUMANITY, AND THEIR OFFSPRING.”

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Courtesy of <ladysmithdowntown.com>

documentary pieces to various stations and festivals.

Publications include Islands of Resistance: Pirate Radio in Canada, which she co-edited in 2010. Justin McGrail, who has a Ph.D. from the UVic and teaches in the department of Art and Design at VIU, has been performing spoken word poetry in bookstores, clubs, malls, poetry slams, classrooms, galleries, cafés, and at festivals across Canada since 1991. He has worked with Montreal’s Fluffy Pagan Echoes, Montreal’s DuoDance Company, and Victoria’s Suddenly Dance Theatre Company. He has been heard on CBC Radio, and performed at the Vancouver International Writers’ Festival, the Vancouver Folk Festival, and the Victoria Spoken Word Festival.

Kevin Mazutinic, from the departments of Media Studies and Art and Design, holds an MFA in New Media and taught at the University of Calgary before coming to VIU. His artistic practice is conceptually driven and has focused on numerous disciplines, including printmaking, sculpture, written and spoken word, 3D modeling and animation, and video-based performance. Robin Davies studied double bass and music technology at McGill’s Schulich School of Music before joining VIU’s Media Studies Department.

His interests include the utilization of the human voice in auditory storytelling, sound design for visual art, and the construction of software-based musical instruments for live music performances. His work can be heard on releases from Phoenica Publishing, Six Records, Maple Music, Ad Noiseum, and Sunchaser Pictures.

The free, illustrated Colloquium presentation is on January 22 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Malaspina Theatre. It is open to all, and students are especially welcome. There will be refreshments.

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HEADLINE HIGHLIGHTS OF 2015 Natalie Gates

It’s two weeks into the New Year. How are your resolutions coming along?

The Navigator Maybe you’re going strong (yay you!), maybe you’ve slipped up, or maybe you just haven’t made any. The thing is, just because we’ve turned a new year on our calendar doesn’t mean everyone is feeling the drive to change themselves or start something new come January 1. Change and new beginnings will come at different times throughout the year for different people. Yet, there’s something to be said about the thoughts that may go through your head as you first begin to accustom yourself to saying 2016.

2015 brought VIU lots of exciting events, change, and new forces of action.

For example, in January 2015, VIU presented their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs. Sharon Johnston each an Honorary Doctor of Law degrees from VIU. In March, VIU hosted the women’s basketball nationals for the first time since the first Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association tournament in 1978. Also in March, NDP leader Tom Mulcair first spoke about his electoral platform in Nanaimo

at the Coast Bastion Hotel, where the brand new VIU Political Society posed to him some pressing questions, kicking off the electoral presence in the city that would remain strong until October’s Election Day. Later that same month, VIU students and other Nanaimoites joined people from dozens of Canadian cities in protesting Bill C-51.

In May, a brand new Health and Wellness clinic opened on campus, giving students more convenient access to nurses, medical advice, and new counseling techniques.

In September, the area’s leaders of most of the major political parties came and chatted with students, answering questions and inspiring debates.

The next month, mere days before the federal election, the VIU Young Greens lost their club status due to a violation of restrictions on candidate advertising on campus, illustrating the passion and devotion of VIU students to their political beliefs.

Also in October, VIU’s Nanaimo campus hosted a candlelight vigil for missing and murdered First Nations women and girls.

In November, VIU and its World University Service of Canada committee announced the sponsorship of a Syrian refugee student and the establishment of the VIU International Refugee

Support Fund.

In December, VIU students and faculty advocated for combating climate change in the lead-up to the UN Summit in Paris.

It was a good year for VIU, and to stay up-to-date on events and news in 2016, you can count on the Nav to keep you posted.

In addition, the VIUSU has some handy strategies to inform you of all their events. The VIUSU app has become increasingly popular; if that’s not enough, you can text “OPT IN” to 778-2001588 to receive text messages from the VIUSU on event updates, as well as a chance to win tickets to see Rick Mercer at the Port Theatre. You will get a maximum of 16 messages a school year, and can opt-out at any time.

Perhaps this is the year you try something new through Campus Rec, or join a new club. It could be the year you decide to start using a day-planner, keep your receipts, or sign up for an ISIC card. Maybe this year you take a leap and sign up for the CREATE Conference (page five) or submit a story to the Navigator.

It’s the year of the monkey according to the Chinese zodiac; what will 2016 be the year of for you, and your VIU?

Shake it off: Quakin’ in our homes Natalie Gates

Maybe you thought we were being attacked, a gas leak exploded, a car ran into your house, or you were The Navigator tripping out. Maybe you were shaken awake or maybe you were away for the break and missed out.

Either way, the magnitude 4.9 earthquake on December 29 sprouted 20 km north of Victoria rattled houses and resulted in a flooding of frantic status updates on Facebook feeds. It was felt throughout the southwest coast of Vancouver Island and well into the Vancouver area, inspiring a reminder to many that our homes are situated in an earthquake-prone zone.

Earthquakes are a common occurrence in the Pacific Northwest, where we have an active plate tectonic boundary, said VIU Earth Sciences professor Sandra Johnson. “The Juan de Fuca plate is sub-ducting below the North American plate along the west coast of North America from around northern California to the north end of Vancouver Island,” she said. “Friction between the plates causes stress to build up, and when all that pent up energy is released the ground shakes. This is not unusual here, since there is an active plate boundary located west of Vancouver Island.”

The last earthquake in the area of this size was in May when there were earthquakes of M4.3 and M4.9 offshore of Tofino, but such tremors, and many much larger, happen regularly around the world. Each year we get many small earthquakes, several of these which are large enough to be felt; larger ones capable of doing damage are rare, and may happen every few decades.

It is common knowledge to those who live on Vancouver Island and in the

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Vancouver area that the “Big One” could theoretically happen at any time.

“Big ones (earthquakes larger than M8), tend to happen on a cycle of several hundred years or more; it’s not regular,” Johnson said. “The last really big one in our area was in the year 1700.”

It is difficult to determine whether these smaller quakes have a connection to the expected destructive one. While the plate boundary is the same, typically the truly large earthquakes occur offshore and not as deep as the December 29 earthquake, said Johnson. “Stress between the two plates is accumulating, releasing, and shifting all the time. A large earthquake will happen when a significant amount of stress accumulates and is released all at the same time. Smaller earthquakes can be precursors to large events, or may be isolated occurrences. It’s pretty tough to know.”

During large earthquakes, coastal areas tend to be flooded by tsunami waters, which bring lots of sediment with them, and so geologists have drilled into sediment records and identified these types of tsunami deposits from past large earthquake events, explained Johnson. “There’s no way to know when another ‘megathrust’ earthquake will occur, but it’s very likely to be in the next 500 years,” she said.

In the meantime, it’s best to know how to educate yourself in the case of a larger tremor so you can rest easy. VIU has several helpful resources on how to act in the case of an earthquake, as well as how to prepare an earthquake kit for your home or car at <sites.viu.ca/emergency/earthquake-2> and <sites.viu.ca/emergency/earthquake-2/additional-resources>.

1 - Past earthquake events (Magnitude 5 or larger) are summarized on this map from the Geological Survey of Canada.

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2 - Since 1872, there have been 11 earthquakes with a magnitude higher than 5.7 in the region, and many more than that with smaller magnitudes.

There are regular earthquakes that are too small to be detected by people, but can be detected on the sensitive instruments used by seismologists.

This figure summarizes all the earthquakes greater than magnitude 2.0 since the year 2000.

Courtesy of <earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca>

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RE-lEARNING HISTORy fOR THE fUTURE Chantelle Spicer

The idea of reconciliation between First Nations and non-Indigenous peoples was heavy in the minds Contributor of many people this year, and it’s one which will continue to profoundly shape our social, political, and legal worlds for years to come. After many events concerning reconciliation in the fall of 2015 here at VIU, as well as the release of findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), my mind reeled with how we as citizens are to proceed. Following the mindset of the Indigenous epistemic perspective, I thought it would be prudent to more fully understand how we reached this point so as to better proceed.

The history of our Canadian societies as taught through school is a carefully chosen narrative which supports colonial ideals that still exist today. These histories generally start with European contact, misrepresenting not only this relationship, but also cloaking the rich cultures that existed on these lands prior to contact.

The Snuneymuxw, along with many other nations whom call the Island home, lived a life in harmony with the land, respected the fragile balances and rhythms of the seasons, and created cultures which reflected these ideals. During initial contact with settlers, this way of life was recognized to some extent in the form of treaties, which were developed between representatives of the Crown and Aboriginal peoples as solemn agreements that would, through the eyes of settlers, lead to the benefit of both parties.

For the Snuneymuxw, this was laid out in the Douglas Treaty, a pre-Confederation treaty which, among other things, led to the surrendering of lands, protection of others, and the maintenance of hunting and fishing rights. As Doug White, Kwulsultan, and Director of the Centre for PreConfederation Treaties and Reconciliation explains, “to understand what these treaties mean, you have to find the common intention between the two parties involved, so there is a real issue with the Douglas Treaties about the land rights.”

A major drawback of this treaty, like many others, was the difference in cultural understanding of what land means to a society.

To the Snuneymuxw, and most other Indigenous nations, the land is a provider, a living being, and something we, as humans, are a part of. The idea Doug White of land ownership is completely foreign to such Courtesy of <dougwhiteforchief.com> an understanding of the world, which, as shown through many treaty negotiations in the province, was used to benefit settler societies instigating the treaties.

Protected within the text of the Snuneymuwx treaty is the whole of Departure and Hammond Bay, a 79-hectare village site along the Newcastle Channel, major winter villages around the Nanaimo Harbour, the Nanaimo River, Gabriola, as well as villages on the Fraser River. This is a large amount of land which should have been protected forever as recognition of Aboriginal title of those spaces.

“Of all of those,” White says, “the only one that remains protected is the no. 1 Reserve, a minuscule speck on Gabriola, and a couple areas on the river. So if the rights were to be properly implemented, it would be a very different landscape in Nanaimo, Victoria, and up to Port Hardy.”

Alongside the issues of land, the fisheries surrounding Vancouver Island were, and continue to be, of vital importance to First Nations and to the land itself. These fisheries are massive living ecosystems unto themselves which make up the world-renowned biodiversity of our oceans as well as the health of our forests. They contributed in integral ways to the First Nations of the coast, as seen through art, stories, and legends. The salmon, in particular, are a keystone species to survival and culture, seen by many nations as returning relatives, a symbol of abundance and prosperity. “[The Douglas Treaties] have some of the most expansive rights that

“the history of our canadian societies as taught through school is a carefully chosen narrative which supports colonial ideals that still exist today.”

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exist in the country for Aboriginal people, allowing for the right to fish as formerly,” White says. “These are really powerful rights that have never been implemented properly.”

All coastal First Nations, including the Snuneymuxw, have fought tooth and nail to fish for food or commercially and continue not to have a voice within the Pacific Salmon Treaty Board—an international board for the allocation of the salmon—despite the recognition of fisheries within the treaties. Acknowledgment of this relationship between First Nations and the fisheries, White says, “can contribute to environmental values and sustainability aspect. An interest in fisheries is not just the right to fish in a space, nor the act of fishing, but the protection of a whole fishery. This includes the body of water, the quality of that water, and the land that supports it—we are talking about everything that is necessary to support that fishery.”

When White was first appointed Chief of the Snuneymuxw First Nations in 2010, generations had already fought for the rights to land, sea, and its survival, which seem clearly stated in the agreement of the treaty. In the 1960s, his grandfather had pushed all the way to the Supreme Court alongside Thomas Berger to have the rights of the people recognized. In the 1965 decision, it was declared that the treaties were legally meaningful and would be enforced; the Province had no jurisdiction or scope to interfere with treaty rights. White was astonished by “the depth of the continuing denial of the Crown about our treaty rights, showing that the rule of law does not apply in Canada in a uniform way, that it is in fact arbitrary.

“We talked about a more comprehensive strategy in terms of implementation of treaty rights that includes the legal as a foundation, but also political, economic, and social factions.”

It was determined through meetings between the local government and White’s council that education of the public needed to be a critical factor in restructuring our relationships with each other and the land.

“People do not even know the most basic facts of the history and geography of the Snuneymuxw people; they have never been taught,” White says. “This is a key finding of the TRC this year—that the school system and its failure to teach is the foundation of the bad relationship between Indigenous peoples and the rest of society.”

Which is exactly where I came in. We all need to re-learn that which we believed to be fact—to question a solid, un-moving idea of truth in our society. Complexities are not something that the human mind likes to grapple with, especially in terms of relationships. It takes a brave mind to be able to come to terms with the fact that this connection between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples has not, and will not be easy to reconcile. It is however, worth it, for a united Canadian society to be richer in both culture and humanity.

Great strides towards this have been made, from the Ts’ilchotin decision, which transformed the idea of Aboriginal title in BC; to the TRC, which helped us realize how much we don’t know; to our new federal government under Trudeau and its plans to implement the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“There is a desire to create proper nation-to-nation discussions,” White says. “Appointments of an Inuit man to Minister of Fisheries, a Kwakuitl woman as Attorney General—it cannot be understood as anything other than an important opportunity to shift into a different reality, a path to reconciliation. It will still be complicated, but at least we will be talking about things in a way that creates hope.”

White’s Centre for Pre-Confederation Treaties and Reconciliation will continue to create more opportunities to become educated on these topics, which includes working with the First Nations Forestry Council, the Leadership Council of BC, as well as counselling on the regional and national level with the Aboriginal justice system. Here at VIU we will see an annual Indigenous speaker series through CBC Radio and the Lauriate Institute, as well as a possible restructuring of education which was a recommendation by the TRC findings, Aboriginal education and engaging with the public through lectures.

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VIU(SU) Services Kelly Whiteside

Sometimes it’s hard to get out of bed after a nice long holiday and trudge The Navigator through the rain and snow to class.

But the VIUSU is there to make your return to campus more exciting. The VIUSU offers free events and services for students, including Frost events, a variety of clubs, an international discount card, a smartphone app, and advocacy.

Every January, the VIUSU welcomes students back to school with a series of (mostly) free events called VIUSU Frost. On January 13 Straight Outta Compton will be playing at the VIU gym at 7:30 p.m. On January 14, from 8 to 11 a.m., there will be a pancake breakfast at the Royal Bank Plaza. Frost continues into the next week with a visit from Vancouver TheatreSports, with tickets costing $5. Frost concludes the following week with two more events. On Tuesday, January 26, there will be free skating at Frank Crane Arena (including a shuttle bus there and back, admission, and skate rentals) from 6 to 8:30 p.m. On January 28, there will be free curling at the Nanaimo Curling Centre from 8 to 10 p.m. Due to space restrictions, you must sign up for the curling event in advance at the VIUSU office by 4 p.m. on January 26. For more events, keep tabs on the VIUSU Facebook page.

Looking for something to do after all the Frost events are done? There’s a multitude of clubs to join, including many that are program-related, as well as the Beekeepers’ Club,

the Cosplay Club, the Game Developers’ Initiative, the World VIU Social Club, the VIU Run Club, and more. It only costs $2 to join a club. If none of the current clubs suit your fancy, you can also apply for late club ratification and create your own. Clubs are given funding from the VIUSU to use toward events, workshops, and more. Check out the VIU website or the VIUSU app for a complete list.

To help with your New Year’s budgeting goals, the VIUSU is able to give students an International Student Discount Card (ISIC) free of charge. The ISIC card gets you discounts locally, nationally, and internationally. Some local places offering discounts include Fountain Tire, Rasta Troll, NYLA Fresh Thread, Domino’s Pizza, and the Students’ Union Pub. Grab a pamphlet from the Students’ Union or look on the ISIC website or VIUSU app for a full list of discounts.

The VIUSU app is a hub for student activity. Students can create their own profile and interact with other students.

There’s a general student feed that you can post on, as well as specific categories such as lost and found, housing, and ride sharing. All clubs and groups on campus have an account where they post information about their meetings and events.

You can find a list of campus services on the app, as well as a section dedicated to exams and mental health, and campus information. There’s also a calendar with important dates marked, and you can add your own events to it.

When students have questions about their rights or university policies and regulations, want to file a formal appeal, or just need someone to talk to, the student advocate is there. The student advocate can assist in gathering information about cases, discuss possible courses of action, participate in meetings between students and university officials as a witness, and refer students elsewhere for assistance or advice.

The student advocate will not offer legal advice or answer legal questions, but the VIUSU does offer a voucher for students seeking legal advice.

The VIUSU also works on campaigns aimed to better student life. Current campaigns include Squash the Squeeze, Don’t Close the Doors on Adult Education, and Fight for $15.

Squash the Squeeze works toward lowering tuition fees; Don’t Close the Doors on Adult Educations aims to banish the new fees for the Adult Basic Education Program; and Fight for $15 looks at raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. In the past, the VIUSU has been successful in many of their campaigns, including banning disposable water bottles and sweatshop products on campus.

There are many reasons to be excited to return to VIU this semester, and these are only a few. Check out our calendar for fun events, and continue to read the Navigator for more on making the most of your time at VIU.

Staying Sober: Inside Nanaimo’s private treatment centre Spenser Smith

“You must be Spenser,” says a widesmiled receptionist. “You’re here for Bill, Contributor right? He’ll be up in a minute. Take a seat.”

Bill Caldwell arrives and we walk to the coffee shop, Rascals, inside Edgewood, a residential treatment centre for addiction.

Bill orders his coffee, and then asks me if I want anything. I don’t drink coffee, and order a small hot chocolate instead.

“Small hot chocolate?” he says. “Someone offers you a free drink and that’s what you order?

“I don’t have as much humility as you,” he laughs.

We walk to one of the dozen or so meeting rooms in the building. Group therapy is currently in session in most of them, but we find an empty one and enter. I start my tape recorder, give a little spiel about what the article is about, and then ask the first question: What’s your official job title?

“Extended Care Supervisor/counsellor/slash adventurer Sasquatch wrangler.”

Classic Bill response. I found this so effective when I was a patient in Edgewood in 2013; their therapeutic strategy is based on human connection. The counsellors are expected to be themselves.

“Therapeutically, the primary job of the therapist or counsellor is connection,” says Bill. “If I can connect with you, we can do all kinds of cool thing therapeutically, but if I can’t connect with you, I can hand you assignments all day long and nothing is going to happen.”

I decided to go to Edgewood out of desperation for my life. I had relapsed after attending five different detox and treatment programs within a four-year span. While I was using, I lost the ability to form meaningful relationships; I felt like a monster only capable of using people for my own personal gain. Six months after my final relapse, I was hospitalized for an overdose and suicide attempt. While in the hospital, my parents offered me the chance to attend Edgewood.

“There is so much about addiction that is about isolation and lack of connection, and my job is to just connect with people,” says Bill.

Creating connections of trust and vulnerability with Bill and other counsellors helped me feel human again. I now have over two years of sobriety.

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Bill started working at Edgewood in 2005 when he was 22 and, according to him, only a “90-pound blonde girl.” (Note: Bill is a man, and you could probably multiply 90 by three to get a rough estimate of his weight.) Most counsellors at Edgewood have either a Master’s degree or are in recovery themselves, but Bill fits neither bill; he has a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Psychology and Criminology from VIU. Although he doesn’t suffer from addiction, Bill says, “There is definitely alcoholism in my family. I think everyone has some kind of family history of addiction.”

“I started at Edgewood trying my best to avoid working in addictions,” he adds. “I did not want any part of it professionally. I was going to work here for about two weeks and then move somewhere else, but I just found out that I loved it. I think it’s given me a totally different perspective on addiction.”

Edgewood’s treatment process consists of two main stages.

The first, around 60 days long, is called “inpatient.” Starting the detox process, patients are put on a strict schedule. They are not allowed to leave the building, except on designated walk times where they can walk the trail that circles the property, affectionately known as the “hamster trail.” The day consists of chores, lectures, and, most importantly, group therapy, led by a counsellor, where patients are encouraged to talk about anything they want. But there’s a catch. After somebody shares, patients are encouraged to give “feedback” to other patients, with the idea being that a fellow alcoholic or addict is best qualified to identify addictive behaviours in other alcoholics or addicts.

In “extended care,” the second stage, patients are given more freedom. They are allowed to leave the property on their own, but have to attend five 12-step meetings a week. There’s also another catch: Edgewood doesn’t supply the rides to the meetings. The patients have to call Edgewood alumni who live in Nanaimo and ask for rides. This gets patients into the practice of “reaching out” to fellow alcoholics or addicts, a behaviour vital to recovery.

The whole experience is made up of feedback. If you are isolating yourself in your room, flirting with the opposite sex, or late with your chores, you are going to hear about it from

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Bill, the other counsellors, and your peers. You’re also called out for delusional thinking—one of the main symptoms of addiction. Common delusions? Thinking you can quit drugs but continue drinking. Thinking you can quit on your own using willpower. Thinking that you don’t actually have a problem.

At Edgewood, we were taught that addiction was an actual disease, not a moral failing or lack of willpower, as many people believe. The National Institute of Drug Abuse website says, “It is often mistakenly assumed that drug abusers lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop using drugs simply by choosing to change their behaviour. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will. In fact, because drugs change the brain in ways that foster compulsive drug abuse, quitting is difficult, even for those who are ready to do so.”

For every person that I have seen stay sober after going to Edgewood, I have probably seen another three relapse. This has less to do with Edgewood than the nature of addiction.

“The biggest challenge for me is that you know how good this could be for people,” says Bill, “and just seeing that resistance, I see people repeatedly make choices that I know are going to end terrifically badly, but I cannot show them the end game the other way.

“It’s a career where there’s a lot of death, a lot of trauma— there’s a lot of people who don’t make it. I bring that home with me too.”

I learned how to stay sober at Edgewood one day at a time.

Bill helped introduce me to a way of living based on helping myself by helping others. Building meaningful relationships with other human beings is now possible.

Cake Night, a monthly event where Edgewood alumni celebrate sobriety milestones, helps Bill put his job into perspective.

“I have to show up at Cake Night. It’s easy to get frustrated and lose track and feel like you’re drowning. But if I can show up at Cake Night, and talk with people I worked with a year ago, where not getting shot was a pretty good daily accomplishment and now their big problem is ‘Will I get a raise or not?’ That problem they have today is not a problem they had a year ago.”

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features

POINT OF VIU

“What is your primary goal or focus this semester?”

JEFF SIENIEWICZ | CONTRIBUTOR .

Katlyn Wildschutte

Alex Mcdonald

Emily Conway-Brown

Luke Gardner

Kendra Abbey

Phys Ed

Biology

Phys Ed

Business and Digital Media

PhysEd and Biology

“I’ll be graduating this semester, so that keeps me focussed on making this my most successful semester.

I’ll be busy though, with six classes.”

“To survive my Organic Chemistry class. It’s like learning a whole new language, and I haven’t done any chemistry for three years, so it’s going to be tough.”

“I’ll be applying to gradschools, so that’s going to keep me motivated here in my fifth year.”

“My focus this semester is to strike a balance between living the university life, with going to activities and events, but still being successful academically.”

“My goal is to keep my GPA above four. It will look good to grad schools, but also just feels good to have.”

Everyday Earth: Spirituality in an Age of Science Chantelle Spicer

It is a fine line that one must walk to see the Contributor natural world through both scientific and spiritual realities. Being enculturated into a western-minded society, it is incredibly difficult to find such a balance without thinking of myself or being labelled as hypocritical. I constantly question the validity of each realm while also deeply believing in both.

It is a widely held understanding that there is an irreconcilable rift between the realms of knowledge and belief. How does this happen in just one mind and how can this rift be repaired?

Science, without any hesitation, has a place in our world. Through its lens, we have explored the reaches of space, the depths of our oceans, and seen the world on a beautiful cellular level. Through its methods we have explored the principles of physics which created our universe and rules our terrestrial world, discovered DNA, and learned how plants grow. It is truly remarkable what science and the human mind can accomplish, resulting in a way of understanding our world that explores and lays bare he processes which are constantly happening around us. It does, however, offer a very limited view of possibilities that can exist in “reality”—ideas heavily based on facts, data, progress, and results. If one cannot provide a source, research, “proof” of existence, it simply cannot be. At the same time, there are many contradictions which exist in a scientific understanding. Are eggs good for you or not?

What is the climate doing exactly? For hundreds of years, humans believed the earth was flat, the centre of the universe, and until very recently, that race existed—all founded in the science of the time. Science is, like all things, dynamic and incredibly fallible. So why believe in it (some of us to the point of faith) so strongly?

After years of exploring this scientific perspective of the world through the study of natural sciences, I found in myself a great void.

Science offers plenty of ways to ask questions, but leaves very little room for what I consider my spiritual imagination. This portion of my mind is fueled by a landscape which is very much alive—a massive living being that I am a part of. This perspective sees beauty abounding, an intrinsically bound relationship between all things, and it creates a deeply rooted respect and appreciation. To see only the scientific framework—only a resource—a pathway to progress would orphan me from my roots as a part of this land and being.

But I love science. Even now, as I write this, I feel the chasm that exists between the science and faith as defined by our culture. I also see the thirst that many experience: the yearning for a deeper connection to moral value than that of science. To reconcile this is to shift the reality that has shaped who I am, and who we are today.

Albert Einstein was able to walk this line with a grace I envy. He recognized the reality that all is one, interconnected, which was the inspiration

and the unfolding of his mathematics, stating, “To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms—this knowledge, this feeling is at the centre of true religiousness.” How is it that Einstein can be so famous, so quoted, his mathematics so revered, and yet this elegant blending of science and spirituality has not penetrated our cultural understanding?

For myself, though it may at times be difficult, I am grateful for this appreciation of both sides of the paradigm. It gives me the opportunity to view our natural world and the experiences on it with a kind of binocular vision. Spirituality and science do not have to be mutually exclusive— why restrict oneself? It actually seems unwise to me to think of the two as separate from one another, leading to, on one hand, a cold, and immoral form of science, or, on the other hand, a general grounding upon which to base a belief system. Neither are able to give a full picture of what it means to exist. Physicist Max Planck said it best, stating “science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and, therefore, part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.”

Happy thinking!

Whiffin Spit in Sooke is a remarkable place to observe the blending of science and spirituality.

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features

rISe OF THe DISPeNSArIeS Rob Wilson Contributor

Last March, Saanich Police pulled over 42-year-old veteran Shanon Fenske as he was heading northbound along the Trans-Canada Highway, doing 70 km/h in a 50 zone.

As Fenske rolled down the window of his 2009 Kia Sportage, the pungent smell of marijuana flooded out and into the nostrils of the officers. In the back of the Sportage, stuffed into a backpack, was 10 grams of marijuana.

Although the possession of marijuana is illegal under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Fenske was sent on his way after some questioning by the officers—without even a ticket for speeding.

Fenske’s excuse for possessing this Schedule II narcotic? He’s prescribed.

For patients like Fenske, a testicular cancer survivor who underwent debilitating chemotherapy, options to access their medicine underwent a drastic change in March 2014, when the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) was repealed, and replaced with the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). Under the old MMAR, patients who were prescribed marijuana were afforded various options: They could grow their own plants, designate someone else to, or buy medical marijuana products directly from Health Canada. Arguing the MMAR “was widely open to abuse,” the Federal government replaced it with the new regulations which forbade individuals from growing marijuana for medical purposes in private dwellings. Now, only Licensed Producers (LPs) are legally allowed to sell medical marijuana to the public, and only under strict conditions.

The MMPR allows delivery of marijuana by mail only, as “Health Canada does not authorize the operation of retail storefronts, such as ‘compassion clubs’ or ‘dispensaries.’” Driving the point home, Health Canada’s website adds, “They are illegal.” Despite this, dispensaries are abundant, with the Vancouver Sun reporting 120 in Vancouver alone, and nine in Nanaimo.

However, on November 12, 2015, Nanaimo RCMP sent letters to several Nanaimo dispensaries ordering them to shut down. Although nearly all Nanaimo dispensaries remained open past the deadline of November 19, the Nanaimo News Bulletin reported that on December 1 three dispensaries were raided and some staff members were arrested.

As most dispensaries thrive, and new ones open, things aren’t going as well for the LPs. Tilray, one of six in BC, began operations in Nanaimo last year. According to the Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation, Tilray generated $48 million for the local economy in 2014, but in June, the company laid off 61 employees (about one third of its staff).

Tilray’s Jennifer Dinsmore says the layoffs were an effort to “right-size the company” and it “wasn’t a light decision” for the CEO, Greg Engel. She says the layoffs resulted from Health Canada delaying a permit to expand Tilray’s growing rooms by “four to five months.”

Dinsmore says dispensaries aren’t a significant threat to Tilray’s business, of which 70 per cent of its customers are Ontarian. For the most part, LPs and dispensaries attract “two separate crowds,” she says—dispensary customers being primarily recreational users, with a few medical users who don’t want to work through the LP registration process.

Fenske, a VIU student, offers his own ideas why LPs like Tilray may not be doing as well as planned. “I didn’t want to risk putting any more chemicals into my body, like chemical fertilizers or pesticides,” he says via email.

Fenske says that while recovering from cancer and chemo, anything synthetic or unnatural caused his stomach to turn—even chewing gum.

Recommendations from chemo nurses and an oncologist led him to try organic marijuana—something he hasn’t seen promoted by any of the LPs. However, Dinsmore says Tilray’s product is “as close to organic as possible,” but certification isn’t attainable, as the industry isn’t held to the same standards as food.

Regardless, after shopping around at some “less than impressive” dispensaries in Nanaimo, where he lives, Fenske looked south to Victoria, where he found the Ocean Grown Medicinal Society. Their organic product, knowledgeable staff, and medical approach to dispensing turned him into a loyal client. “I don’t want to waste my money when I know I can go to one place every six months or so without any negative experiences.” He hasn’t even registered with an LP. With the recent opening of Warmland Medicinal Cannabis Centre in Mill Bay, Fenske may not have to travel as far. Warmland is owned and

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operated by Canadian marijuana legend Chris Clay, who, in 1993, opened Canada’s first hemp shop in London, Ontario. For this, he was arrested in 1995 for trafficking. He took his case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, where a judgement was finally made in 2003: Clay was fined $700 and given two years of probation.

Clay says his case sparked a “nationwide debate over medical marijuana” when it first began, and marijuana legal champion (and Clay’s current lawyer) Kirk Tousaw even wrote a thesis on it.

In 2000, long after the original trial, Clay left the industry after the arrival of his first-born. “There’s more to life than marijuana,” he says now.

Fifteen years later however, and after moving to the Cowichan Valley, Clay saw the opportunity for a dispensary in the area. Warmland opened in August 2015, with the goal of providing patients with a non-burdensome system and a mom-and-pop feel. Business has been steady, Clay says, and he has had “overwhelming support from the community.”

Despite the Nanaimo RCMP demanding dispensaries in Nanaimo shut down, Clay isn’t worried about the law, and “can’t imagine anything will happen” in Nanaimo or Mill Bay. He says most police departments have bigger priorities than busting dispensaries.

Well-lit jars of marijuana.

Rob Wilson

Attesting this, an officer from Warmland’s local RCMP detachment [name withheld] in neighbouring Shawnigan Lake says, prior to November 18, he was unaware of Warmland, and doesn’t “give a shit” about its existence.

Like Fenske, Comox Valley resident Ernie Yacub, 71 (who has “been smoking since the ‘60s”), offers his own ideas as to why dispensaries like Warmland are thriving while LPs are laying off employees.

“A lot of people prefer dealing with a human being face-to-face,” he says via email. “They like looking at and smelling the dry herb and getting information about the medicine, its effects, dosing, and ways of using it.”

He adds that some people don’t have credit cards or PayPal accounts, don’t like buying online, can only afford to buy small amounts at a time (e.g., $10), and/or don’t have fixed addresses.

While heading a dispensary in Courtenay, Yacub was arrested for possession in 2011. He now runs a medical marijuana “courier service” throughout the Comox Valley.

Clay calls the current, burdensome system “totally broken,” and points to roadblocks put up by the Harper government. But with the Liberal party now in office, things are looking up for the Canadian cannabis world. On November 13, Prime Minister Trudeau began the first steps toward marijuana legalization, as stated in a public mandate letter.

For the time being, however, the MMPR is still in effect—a bizarre way of getting medicine, Clay says. He believes patients should be able to easily pick up medical marijuana like they would any other medicine, as a normal activity. With more than half his customers being seniors—the oldest being 79—Clay says, “Imagine someone like that trying to order medicine.”

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O O M M I I A A N N A A N N n n i i S ’ S ’ R R A A E E Y Y W W E N NE

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the campus was genuinely empty despite all the lights. I even had to Google whether rabbits hibernate or if they had all shrivelled up and died like slugs after touching the salty cement. Turns out they just like to sleep at night, even on New Year’s Eve. We came back around to the bus loop after wandering for about 20 minutes and found that a girl whom exited the bus with us was still waiting for her transfer. She was heading to a small gathering with some friends out by

Country Club.

“Not really a big party person,” she says.

“Yeah, we don’t really have any big plans either.”

When she was gone, it was just Jess and I, alone together, waiting for the bus. We stared out at Wakesiah and Fourth— at the blinking red and yellow lights of lamp posts and vehicles—and listened to the distant boom of fireworks.

I looked back down over the railing where a crisp, empty bag of Doritos was nestled into the bush below.

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Ron said the transit team didn’t have any horror stories about passengers yet. In fact, the day had been pretty good.

His daughter texted him to say Happy New Year and wish “It’s not so bad,” Ron says. He’s been driving public transit him luck dealing with the drunks, but he just laughed it in Nanaimo for six months now, and as we made our way off.

“Nah. There’s been more drunks on a typical Saturday from VIU to Woodgrove, he was already four hours into his very first New Year’s shift. “It’s a good service, you than there’s been tonight so far. Everyone’s been great and know? I’m happy to be keeping anyone, even one drunk polite. person off the road.”

He’s not missing much back home either; his wife works

early in the morning, so she’s probably asleep already.

Plus, he’s got eight minutes overtime pay after midnight.

“It’s not so bad,” he says again. “I’ve got a couple cold beers in the fridge when I get home. Gonna watch some TV and go to bed.”

He chuckles.

“Just keep thinking about the cold beer.”

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and a half. When she first moved to Nanaimo she didn’t know anyone, but she saw him and right away and was like “yep—that one.”

A few minutes into the trip, another teenage girl, blonde this time, got on the bus. The two girls recognized each other from Facebook, having never met in person. They left the bus together two stops later to head to the second girl’s party.

“Tonight we’re going to be best friends,” the blonde says.

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of the usual two characters, it’s three. Growing up, she hated her name because people made fun of it for being weird, but she likes it now; it means “new world.”

Last year, she spent New Year’s in Langley with her family. This year, she spent it on a bus, talking with us about cat breeds and how Asians that spend time with Caucasians are derogatively called “bananas.”

“Making friends is hard, but not so hard,” she says.

Saenuri, I like your name too.

The salting job on the stairs was shoddy at best—every half-dozen steps was one of pure black ice. It was the first time I’d been on campus after 9 p.m., and I was a little surprised that VIU didn’t go into energy saving mode when it’s closed for a week. I had to peek inside every window and confirm every vacant computer chair to assure myself

VIU BOWEN BC FERRIES HAMMOND BAY

The art of craft brewing Antony Stevens The Navigator

FAIRVIEW Within a single block radius of my house there are at least two dozen sets of Christmas lights still dangling from gutters.

I question the logistics of calling them “Christmas lights” when they hang from the end of November through to midJanuary. Really, they’re just winter lights—a much-needed paint during a desaturated season. One house has a string of lights tangled like yarn in their barren deciduous tree, because nothing is more festive than strapping a party hat to a corpse.

It was just past eight on the night of December 31 when my girlfriend, Jess, and I walked through the neighbourhood to the nearest bus stop, frost as crunchy as snow beneath our feet. The night was already black, but clear; I want to say that I pointed the little dipper out to her among the field of stars, but I didn’t.

We stood at the bus stop as two young men spoke French to each other at the stop across the street. Before I could call out to them, their bus arrived (the last 15 to Woodgrove of the night), and ours (the 5 to downtown) moments after. Five hours earlier, a friend of mine in Paris posted a “Happy New Year” Facebook status from her phone, likely with a glass of

step like ostrich feathers. I asked a staff member standing out back on break if they were participating in karaoke tonight.

She forced a chuckle and took a puff of her cigarette before saying “nope” as she exhaled. Next door, the Oxy Liquor The downtown core was bustling. Karaoke Thursday at the Store was having their busiest night of the year.

Oxy Pub just so happened to line up with New Year’s Eve, and “Sparkling wine and Pressecos,” the staff tells us. “That’s the place was packed both inside and out. Two people smoked what most people are buying tonight. Champagnes too. After by the front door as a group of woman flocked downhill from that it’s just an assortment.”

On Facebook, the Dinghy Dock Pub promised live blues, Prideaux to Selby, their dresses and purses jostling with each

wine in her other hand. I imagine that the French partake in the classiest parties, and that those two young men donned ties under their hooded jackets.

The bus was lit shallowly in the back by a fluorescent bulb, but left dark in the front. We sat in the back across from another couple, noticeably older than ourselves, who got off at the very next stop carrying a 12-pack of Molson Canadian. A second couple, who sat in the shadowed front half, exited the bus shortly after, carrying with them a backpack of contents unknown. As we drove through the residential area towards Old City Quarter, the night felt as frozen in time as it was cold.

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champagne, and a buffet at their New Year’s Eve party, while the Cambie promised a burlesque dancer and electro-swing music. A man named Carlton commented on the latter event page the next morning: “Thanks for such an amazing way to bring in the New Year! Much love.”

While the parties raged, Jess and I walked back to the bus stop, in pace behind a heavy-coated man smoking a joint.

Something tells me now that New Year’s Eve had nothing to do with it.

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together on the front grass at 7-Eleven. A bicyclist passed by at one point. The bus driver cut off a pedestrian at the crosswalk beside the old Harewood School. Nobody got on the bus. We arrived at VIU alive.

Nanaimo Youth Services Association as the bus left downtown. The sobriety of the room was at a sharp contrast to the drunken pub-blocks not 30 seconds away.

There was a circle of people sitting at a table inside the Passing through Harewood, teenagers were huddled

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from us. Her hair was jet black, just past shoulder length, and she wore a small purple backpack and a grey sweater.

Her party was a 40 minute walk from Woodgrove—too far in -3 weather by herself and in the dark, so she bailed Before we transferred to the Hammond Bay, one of the and was heading home instead. She tells us she likes cats drivers at the Woodgrove Exchange asked us if we’d “had a Christmas spliff tonight.” I told him no, but I assured him and memes. that if I still had one left over from Christmas, it’d be big “I would have liked to go to the party,” she says, “but it’s enough to share with him. He went into hysterics as we whatever. My boyfriend’s gonna leave his party and come over and we’ll just watch Netflix.” clambered onto the bus.

A teenage girl made the same bus transfer and sat across Her and her boyfriend have been together for a year

taxi, but she said the company wasn’t picking up.

Jess recognized the woman’s accent as Korean as we plugged her address into my phone and realized that she By the time we arrived at the ferry, it was 40 minutes until lived two blocks away from where Jess and I lived. I told midnight, and there were only four arrivals left at the her the best route: It’s a two minute walk, but a 30 minute terminal. One was picked up by a friend, and the other wait in the cold for the next bus. Since we were going that way anyway, we offered to accompany her and help with three got on the bus and sat next to us.

One of the new passengers was trying to figure out what excess bags. bus to transfer to in order to spend the least amount of time Saenuri Park is in her first year of Early Childhood walking with her half-dozen bags. She would’ve taken a Education at VIU. In Korean, her name is unusual; instead

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arts

The Best Things of 2015 Brendan Barlow The Navigator

2015 has come and gone, and what better way to celebrate its passing than by taking a look at the best things about the year behind us—provided that you watch movies, play video games, or enjoy the other sampling of things that I have included here. It’s also worth saying that I did not see every movie, nor play every game in the last year, so it’s possible that your favourite thing isn’t here, or that it’s terrible.

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst This HBO documentary series is absolutely stunning. Over six episodes, Andrew Jarecki— director of Capturing the Friedmans and All Good Things—tells the story of the bizarre and disturbing life of Robert Durst and the murders that seem to surround him on a constant basis.

Using news clips, interviews, and, perhaps most amazingly, an at-length interview with Durst himself, Jarecki unpacks a decades-old mystery, and the series packs one of the biggest punches in its final episodes that a documentary has ever given. You will absolutely fly through this series.

Movies The Martian One of the most engaging and thrilling movies in recent memory, The Martian combines hard science, and the infinitely charming Matt Damon in a sci-fi movie that puts a lot of weight in the “sci” part of the genre. The movie feels like a true story for such a huge amount of time, and you may find yourself Googling the main character before you realize that no one has ever been to It Follows Mars. It’s believable, and the cast doesn’t have Certainly a movie that was met with some any weak links to speak of. Well worth your time. polarizing reviews, It Follows beautifully captures the 1980s sensibilities of John Carpenter and Wes Crimson Peak Craven, while also feeling like something unique Guillermo del Toro has crafted a beautiful and and special. The movie isn’t clear on when it takes horrifying film with Crimson Peak. Del Toro’s place, and it creates a timeless quality that will eye for design and obvious love for horror, plus give the movie some staying power. On top of all the great performances from Tom Hiddleston that, the soundtrack is absolutely spectacular. and Jessica Chastain make this easily one of the This is not a movie to miss. greatest horror films in the last few years, and certainly one of the best of 2015. If you’d like a bit Mad Max: Fury Road more, you can head to <thenav.ca> for my review. Fury Road was, without question, one of the biggest cinematic surprises of 2015, giving viewers an over-the-top, all-out action movie that didn’t give you time to stop and rest. You were on this ride from start to finish, and it was an absolute blast. The movie also had one of the most fantastic female characters in recent memory, and she wound up being the lead for most of the movie.

If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favour.

The Jinx

Courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter

The ousting of Stephen Harper

No more will we, as a country, have to look into the dead eyes of Stephen Harper, after our recent election ended nearly 10 years of science muzzling, blatant racism, sexism, and so much more at the highest level of power in Canada. He has only been gone for a few months, but it seems that Canadians are seeing more positive change, and active leadership from our new Prime Minister.

This was a genuine victory for Canadians, and Also check out: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you should all be proud.

Jurassic World, and Straight Outta Compton.

Gay marriage declared legal in the US

Without a doubt, this was one of the biggest and most spectacular pieces of news that hit in 2015. Finally, after an unforgivably long time, the Supreme Court declared that gay marriage was legal across America, all at once. While Beauty Behind the Madness No one is more surprised about my love of an R&B there has been some push back, and idiots album than I am, but from the first single, “Can’t acting like idiots, there’s no denying the sense Feel My Face,” I knew this would be one of the big of joy, and the gravity of this victory. A big ones for me this year. Sure enough, The Weeknd high-five to the Supreme Court on this particubrings a catchy and undeniably sexy piece of lar occasion. work to music fans with his 2015 album. If you haven’t heard it, or you don’t think you’ll like it, I can promise that it’s worth giving a chance.

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Turbo Kid It seems that so much love, praise, and attention is given to self-serious and dramatic movies, and, as a result, movies with a very real sense of fun often get lost in the shuffle. Turbo Kid reminded me how much fun movies can be, and how fun they should be. This post-apocalyptic epic is over the top, bloody, and an absolute blast to watch.

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If there’s just no way that you’ll give a chance to The Weeknd, here’s another one you shouldn’t miss. Sleater Kinney are a dynamite rock act and you definitely want them in your life. Trust me.

Plus, their video for “A New Wave” will be an instant hit for Bob’s Burgers fans. There’s not much more to say—if you like rock music, listen to it.

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arts

Things To Watch For (or Not) in 2016 Brendan Barlow The Navigator

2016 will have arrived by the time this makes it to print, but at the time of writing it is still the past; how cool is that? The year ahead promises to be full of great things, so here are 10 things (in no particular order) that I am wildly excited for, and you should be too. Not included in this list are The Revenant and The Hateful Eight, which were easily the best movies from the first week of 2016.

to make genuinely funny, female-led comedies time and time again, plus his incredible cast for this movie makes me positive that it will be a fun ride. Get on board.

Captain America: Civil War

Marvel has proven that it doesn’t know how to make a bad movie—even its worst offerings are entertaining and solid in their own way. The unassuming Ant Man was a joy to watch this year, and while I found Age of Ultron a big lackluster, it would be wrong to call it a bad movie. The return of characters we know, plus the addition of Black The Witch Panther and the rumoured appearance of SpiderA horror movie about witches that did Man is something to get excited about. We also exceptionally well at Sundance festival, The Witch have heroes we love fighting each other. Even as is definitely something to get excited about. The someone who isn’t a huge comic book fan, this is trailer is dark, brutal, and appears to have the one I’m looking forward to. makings of a genuinely frightening movie. I’m always in favour of a horror movie that takes the genre seriously, and offers both compelling storytelling, great cinematography, and genuine scares. Hopefully The Witch is just that.

Movies

Green Room

to share a similar sense of humour that was seen in CAH. It should be a lot of fun, and thanks to its massive success on Kickstarter, I’ll be sure to show off my beautiful wooden box as well. It is set up to be the fanciest game with Hitler in the name.

Swish Say what you will about Kanye West (and you’d probably be right), but there’s no denying the impact that West has had on modern hip-hop, or that the quality of his last two solo albums has been off the charts. The songs that have been released so far are stunning, and the album is due “sometime soon,” so hopefully that means 2016.

New Brand New album A band that I grew up listening to, Brand New, has consistently put out good albums—how on earth could I not be looking forward to a new album?

This, like other things on the list, falls under the category of “hopefully in 2016,” because it doesn’t have a confirmed date, or even a confirmed album name yet. The first song released from the album, “Mene,” is raw and strong, and I can’t wait for the rest.

Director Jeremy Saulnier has proven himself an incredibly capable director. After releasing one of the best movies of 2014, Blue Ruin, and a pretty fun (if a bit stupid) horror movie back in 2007 called Murder Party, it’s easy to get on board for whatever this guy brings next. In this case, that is Green Room. His movies are brutal, violent, and stunningly executed. He’s a director to watch, and this movie should deliver more of that.

Courtesy of <traileraddict.com>

Hardcore Now, this one is not confirmed for 2016, but it’s a bit of wishful thinking. Hardcore did extremely well at the Toronto International Film Festival and, if I had to guess, it would seem 2016 will be its wide release, and I just can’t wait. This is the first entirely first-person action movie ever made, and it boasts itself a non-stop thrill ride.

It stars District 9’s Sharlto Copely and is helmed by a newer director named Ilya Naishuller. Keep your eyes open for this one.

Courtesy of <firstshowing.net>

Ghostbusters Are you one of those people who just can’t stand that the new Ghostbusters film is a cast of women?

Were you also someone who freaked out at the idea of an African-American Spider-Man, or was furious about an African-American Johnny Storm?

Well, you’re the worst kind of person, and this movie is going to be dynamite. Paul Fieg’s ability

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The X-Files return As a sucker for horror and science fiction, the prospect of a new series of X-Files is very exciting.

Not to mention, there’s nothing quite as delightful as David Duchovny—although his recent debut album is something we should all agree to forget about.

United States election

While I do find the constant obsession that Canadians can have with the circus that is US politics to be tiresome and disturbing, I find myself feeling anxious for their election to just happen already. Once it happens, then perhaps Donald Trump will be forced to disappear forever, Secret Hitler and we can stop talking about him. They run From the minds of the delightful human beings their elections for so long, and we will all utter a who brought the gift that is Cards Against collective sigh of relief when the whole terrible Humanity (CAH) into this world comes Secret affair is over.

Hitler. This marks the first time I have ever been enthusiatic about an upcoming tabletop game, but here I am. This one has been compared to Werewolf and Mafia, both games that I’ve never played, but have heard plenty about. It appears

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Star Star Wars: Wars: A A Franchise Franchise Reawakened Reawakened Brendan Barlow

There’s simply no denying that the Star Wars franchise is one of the biggest science fiction film series in the history of film or science fiction. AcThe Navigator cording to <StatisticBrain.com>, the films alone have grossed more than $4 billion—add that to over $1 billion in DVD and VHS sales, plus the billions made from toys, books, video games, and licensing. It’s easy to see why the series is ubiquitous, and while it could be argued that there are more important or better-executed science fiction films out there, surely none are quite as universal as this one.

Even at its worst, Star Wars has drawn an astounding amount of money from its fans, with the universally panned prequel trilogy contributing over $1 billion to the running total, despite disdain expressed from fans and critics alike. This most recent entry’s earnings, in less than a month, is staggering to say the least. Breaking box office records, and sitting at over $1.5 billion worldwide, it appears there is simply no stopping Star Wars.

My own personal connection with the Star Wars universe is not quite as strong as it is with many. I enjoyed the original trilogy from the ‘70s, and appreciated their impact and importance in the history of cinema. However, I found the prequel trilogy basically unwatchable.

My enthusiasm was awakened again earlier in 2015 with the release of Star Wars: Battlefront, which I would describe, as someone who isn’t terribly fond of playing online with others,―as a ludicrous amount of fun.

It was this renewed enthusiasm for The Force Awakens IMAX photo featuring Rey and BB-8 on Jakku.

Star Wars that I took with me on my Courtesy of AMC Theatres trip to the sold-out theatre to see The Force Awakens.

Directed by JJ Abrams (Star Trek), and written by Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back), The Force Awakens breathes new life into a series that had fallen victim to dated and atrocious computer-generated imagery (CGI), bizarrely complex political themes, and the whims and desires of a lunatic (who will not be named).

The story does mirror, or perhaps echo, plot points from the original trilogy, which may be a bit of an annoyance for people who are especially familiar with those films. Yet even with those similarities, this entry feels more like the beginning of a new trilogy than a rehashing of the original.

Abrams does a solid job, as he always does, directing both the actors and the elaborate action scenes, and has stayed true to his promise of moving away from CG elements and bringing puppets back into the mix, creating something that truly feels like a Star Wars movie.

It was great to see Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill reprise their roles, but it’s clear these seasoned actors have moved on with their careers. They are presented in the movie to pay some fan service, and bridge the gap between the original trilogy and this most recent addition. The problem is that it came off as fan service more than

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anything else, although I understand that there are genuine connections to these characters and it is important to pay some attention to where they are now.

Alternatively the characters that make their first appearances in this movie are genuinely engaging and interesting. The two leads—Daisy Ridley as Rey, and John Boyega as Finn—give fantastic performances, and have a really solid chemistry on-screen. They also represent a very progressive choice in casting—a woman, and a British-born Nigerian as leads in the same movie. While this might feel like something that shouldn’t be significant in 2015, the fact remains that it is. Having these two actors in these two roles is a huge deal both for this movie, and for future films.

Both actors are charming, funny, and bring a lot to their characters. In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I will stick to broad strokes when it comes to characters and their interactions.

Also featured in the movie is Adam Driver (Girls) as the leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren. Driver is a menacing presence when he is in his full costume, and without his mask he presents a very human, if evil, character. I found him to be, easily, one of the most interesting bad guys in the entire franchise (yes, that includes Darth Vader). There are also great performances from Oscar Isaac as the likable Poe Dameron, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, and Andy Serkis as the menacing Supreme Leader Snoke.

Even with all these amazing actors and great performances, there is one that really stands out for me: the hugely endearing droid BB-8. It’s not often that a non-human character stands out as one of the most enjoyable characters in a movie, but this little rolling-ball robot is fabulous.

A great performance and an achievement in engineering that still baffles me, BB is a welcome addition, and may even be more likable than R2D2.

Particularly noteworthy is the balance between CG elements and practical effects that Abrams has brought to this movie. The puppets and robots are great, and work well to make the universe feel alive. The scenes and sequences that do feature CG still carry a lot of weight and manage to feel very real. Everything in the movie has a presence, and you feel the size scope of the ships, the battles, and plenty of other things in a way that the prequels and all of their CG space fights were unable to capture.

The Force Awakens does a great job of blending the computer animation, and puts a lot of work into making you feel as though the alternate galaxy is real. Even the CGI characters, like Snoke or Maz, have a strong presence and feel like part of the film rather than something added later.

Seeing this movie on the big screen jumpstarted a sense of nostalgia that I didn’t have with Episode I, and there is something special about being able to see a movie like Star Wars on the big screen. Being in my mid-20s, I was unable to see the original trilogy in theatres, so this experience, for me, was significant. You can feel the energy of the fans in the packed theatre, and that is effective at pulling you into the story.

The movie is a lot of fun to see in theatres, and I can’t recommend doing that enough. If your plan is to wait it out and get in on Blu-Ray, you will be missing the full experience.

So, what else can you say? Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t a perfect movie by any stretch, but it’s one that delivers something new and exciting, and reinvigorates a franchise that was desperately in need of shaking up. It’s worth the time, money, and even the crowds.

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canaDian RocKeRs geT nosTaLgic “It just feels more like us.”

-Ryan Gullen From left to right: Sam Corbett, Shamus Currie, Ewan Currie, and Ryan Gullen.

Molly Barrieau

This February, The Sheepdogs will begin their Canadian tour in VanThe Navigator couver. Making a stop in Nanaimo on February 21, the band is riding high after releasing their new album, Future Nostalgia, last October.

The Sheepdogs are known for their vintage-style video for “I Don’t Know,” a nod to Woodstock in 1969. The band followed with a self-titled album in 2012, receiving high praise, and comparisons to classic rock legends like Creedance Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and The Guess Who. “Some bands try to emulate one type of band,” Gullen says. “We don’t try to do that.” Gullen says the influence comes from listening to those bands, growing up with their sound, and wanting to create music that they would listen to.

The band’s southern-style rock takes on a smoother finish in the 18-track record, which the band recorded in a rented cottage and barn on Stony Lake near Peterborough, Ontario for three weeks. Taking the chance to return to their blues rock roots in an organic way, they worked on their own schedule, sometimes recording until 3 a.m.

“We had the freedom to do that,” Gullen says, equating the experience to a hippie commune.

Intended to be listened to straight through, Future Nostalgia includes singles like “Downtown” and “I’m Gonna Be Myself,” along with an instrumental reprise, and slower, shorter ballads, breaking away from their self-titled album’s sound.

After winning their Rolling Stone “Choose The Cover” that landed them a record deal with Atlantic Records, The Sheepdogs was produced by The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney, a friend and role model for the band. According to Gullen,

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the pressure on the band to release a hit led them to Carney.

“It was very much a partnership,” he said.

With Carney’s knowledge and influence, The Sheepdogs’ sound resonated with The Black Keys’ fans and rock lovers alike, gaining traction in their growing career as a band.

The Sheepdogs’ “Feeling Good” was played each time the Canadian men’s national hockey team scored during the 2015 IIHF World championship in Prague, creating instant recognition for the Saskatchewan band.

“Every album should feel important,” Gullen says, comparing 2010’s Learn and Burn’s “weird, thrown-together sound” to the new, developed, cohesive Future Nostalgia.

Gullen and his bandmates took inspiration from Abbey Road by the Beatles, known for a medley of songs, blending one into the next seamlessly.

“So much of that is listening to a side of an album,” Gullen adds, reminiscing, exemplifying the album’s contradictory name.

“It just feels more like us,” Gullen says about recording this time around.

As a bassist, Gullen says that jamming with Paul McCartney would be a dream. “Jamming with someone is like getting to know their mind, musically.”

The band’s vibe transcends their music onto the stage, known for sporting bell-bottom jeans and vintage button-up shirts. Gullen claims that this is not planned, and he wears the western style on a daily basis.

“These are the clothes in my suitcase,” Gullen says, “This is how I look everyday.”

According to his Twitter bio, @realryangullen rides his

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motorcycle in his “tasseled leather jacket as much as [he] can.”

Among other hobbies, the bassist built a 1950s chopper a couple of years ago, and when the four Saskatchewan boys aren’t touring across Canada and the world, recently hitting the UK and Brazil, Gullen says he and the bandmates love competing in a fantasy football league. On tours, the group can be found listening to a game on the radio, and Gullen claimed to be in the lead at the time of the interview.

Gullen says the connection between athletes and musicians is common, and that a lot of athletes that he has had the opportunity to meet are huge music fans. Gullen, as any Torontonian, is a Blue Jays fan.

Next month, when the band arrives in BC, they will be stopping in Vancouver and Victoria before heading to Nanaimo. Typically heading west from Saskatchewan on their tours, they try to stop in Victoria to visit Sam Corbett’s (drummer) aunt. “[Vancouver Island is] paradise to escape to, especially when you’re travelling in the winter.”

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profile: myles maTTila Catherine Charlebois

You wouldn’t think that hockey and mental health go together, but with The Navigator lots of time spent on the road and away from family, those in the sport don’t have it easy. Myles Mattila, 16-year-old Okanagan Rockets right wing and mental health advocate, challenges those preconceptions.

Signs of mental health issues aren’t always apparent— something Mattila can attest to. After noticing a change in his teammate’s mood during the hockey season, a bit of probing revealed that his friend was struggling with depression.

Wanting to be there for him, Mattila wishes he had known about <mindcheck.ca> at the time, a website that provides tools to cope with mental health issues.

“When my friend told me that he was suffering from depression, it was very hard for him, but it was also hard for me because I didn’t have the resources and the know-how to help him get the help he needed,” says Mattila. “Had I given him mindcheck.ca [to look at] at the time, he could have really understood what he was going through.”

Making the decision to tell his teammate’s parents about their son’s struggle coupled with the passing of Vancouver Canucks player Rick Rypien, a mental health advocate, a few weeks later only served to solidify Mattila’s decision to get involved with mental health advocacy.

Seeing Vancouver Canucks player Kevin Bieska carry on Rypien’s legacy in promoting mental health through mindcheck. ca further inspired Mattila to get involved. After teaming up with mindcheck.ca in 2013, and, more recently, with Talk Today, a mental health education program in partner with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) which joined with the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) to promote mental wellness among players in October 2015, Mattila has plenty of work ahead of him.

Between speaking on behalf of mindcheck.ca in school presentations and giving a player’s perspective on behalf of Talk Today, juggling school, family, and sports can be a balancing act, something which Mattila says he couldn’t be doing without the support of his family and help from “dad-ager” Don Mattila.

“I don’t think I’d have such great success being a mental

health advocate without my parents,” says Mattila. “I can’t thank them enough.”

The outreach in the four months since the launch of Talk Today has been tremendous, says Mattila, with a variety of hockey leagues wanting to get involved and create a plan to broaden the scope of mental health education.

A close-knit community, comraderie in the hockey world is strong between teammates, coaches, and the billet families that host hockey players. Though every league is different in their travel schedule, nothing really beats being home, and separation has its consequences.

“Sometimes [hockey players] can miss school for two weeks,” says Mattila. “It’s hard for them to catch up in school. During that time away they’re going to be missing their friends and family back home.”

Ensuring billet families are aware of the signs of mental health issues, and educating them about mental health as much as possible is also a priority.

Players tend to seclude themselves during travel, and Mattila warns billet parents not to be passive when hockey players brush off inquiries.

“When they come home, make sure you talk to them. Pick their brain a little,” says Mattila. “Get in a bit of conversation and make sure that [the player] is fine.”

Already in the Quesnel Hall of Fame for outstanding athletic achievement, recipient of the YMCA Youth Initiative of the Year Award, torch bearer at the Canada Winter Games, guest speaker at Balancing Our Minds at Rogers Arena, on the Advisory Committee for the 2016 Balancing Our Minds event, representing CMHA Kelowna as their youth ambassador, and, more recently, assisting the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) Nelson Leafs team with their January 16 launch of the Breakout program, another mental health initiative, Mattila shows no signs of stopping.

“I haven’t really figured out what I want to do in the future yet,” says Mattila. “I have a lot of routes I can go, but whatever I choose I’m definitely going to bring mental health advocacy into it. I want to make sure people keep talking about it and try to end the stigma.”

From left: BCHL commissioner John Grisdale, Myles Matt ila, CHMA’s Bev Gutray, and BCHL support chair Rob DeClark at the launch of Talk Today.

Courtesy of Don Matt ila

British Columbia Major Midget League (BCMML) Okanagan Rocket right wing Myles Matt ila poses for his roster photo.

Courtesy of Don Matt ila

Matt ila during a panel at the October 2015 launch of Talk Today.

Courtesy of Don Matt ila

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Mariners’ schedule

(January 13 – January 26)

VOLLEYBALL

BASKETBALL MEN’S

WOMEN’S

DATE

AWAY

HOME

TIME

Jan. 15

VIU

Quest

8 p.m.

Jan. 16

VIU

Langara

3 p.m.

Jan. 22

Capilano

VIU

8 p.m.

Jan. 23

Douglas

VIU

3 p.m.

MEN’S

WOMEN’S

DATE

AWAY

HOME

TIME

Jan. 15

UFV

VIU

8 p.m.

Jan. 16

UFV

VIU

3 p.m.

Jan. 15

UFV

VIU

6 p.m.

Jan. 16

UFV

VIU

1 p.m.

VIU

Capilano

6 p.m.

VIU

Capilano

1 p.m.

Jan. 15

VIU

Quest

6 p.m.

Jan. 22

Jan. 16

VIU

Langara

1 p.m.

Jan. 23

Jan. 22

Capilano

VIU

6 p.m.

Jan. 23

Douglas

VIU

1 p.m.

BADMINTON Jan. 23-24

menTal healTh maTTers: self-care reminder Zoe Lauckner

The holidays have ended and it’s back to school for the Contributor spring semester. For some, this season is relaxing and uplifting, but for others, Christmas is a time of financial hardship and straining family dynamic—or is it just me? Regardless of the quality of your holiday season, the beginning of term is a good time for self-care reminders. This issue’s column outlines a few ways to help kickstart your term and maintain your sanity.

You’re probably not feeling overwhelmed with homework yet, but it’s only the second week of the term. I know from experience that things can get out of hand very quickly, so it’s important to stay on top of your school work and, if possible, get things done early. Everyone has different learning styles, so learning yours and formulating a plan with goals in mind can help you strive for success. By getting things crossed off your academic to-do list early, you’re ensuring that the end of term will be easier to tackle. Being organized and thinking ahead is great self-care as you’re doing yourself a favour and creating some space for you-time. Picture this—going out for a brew in March and not thinking about an assignment you’ve been putting off for weeks. It’s possible.

Not only are we privileged to attend university and better our education, but VIU also offers a number of resources to help ensure student success. I was in my fifth year at VIU before I took advantage of these resources and I wish I had sooner. Check out <learningmatters.viu.ca>, a digital learning commons for VIU students with information to help with any assignments and projects, or skills you need support with, such as writing and editing, math, and research.

Of course, the Writing Centre on the fourth floor of the library is another great place to get support—their friendly and qualified faculty is able to help with any subject.

Think healthy thoughts, but, more importantly, stay active. Stress affects the mind and body. Both are intimately interconnected—a cyclical relationship

where your physical health influences your mental health and vice versa.

My after-Christmas narrative reads like a chain reaction: I ate too many sweets which affected my physical health, this triggers my negative self-talk and body image tendencies that also stress me out, and then I have trouble eating, staying organized, sleeping enough, etc. You get the point—it’s a downhill spiral. Making a plan to stay active can be very helpful, as setting goals that are achievable, timely, and action-oriented can provide a foundation for changing habits. If you have someone in your life that is willing to take it on with you too, the more support the better—plus, someone is there to hold you accountable to your goals. For me, it’s someone who is willing to slap the ketchup chips out of my hands and get me out for a walk with the dogs.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, it is a myth that suicide rates increase over the holiday season, as statistics show the rates actually decrease during this time. While this is true, the rates of depression rise dramatically over Christmas, reminding us that the holidays can evoke a number of emotions and create stress impacts mental health. If you or someone you know is experiencing depression, know that you are not alone and that there is help available. There are many services within the Nanaimo area that do stellar work, and I would encourage anyone who needs some extra support to seek it. Check out a past Mental Health Matters column that outlines local services on the Navigator’s website.

While self-care strategies are a good way to ease back into this column and the term, next issue will get back to tackling some heavier subject matter in the world of mental health.

Stay sane, VIU. Until next time…

Tournament at SFU

Boules au caroube (Carob balls) Catherine Charlebois The Navigator

So you may have indulged a little during the holidays and enjoyed the sugar high while it lasted. Saying farewell to sweets might be a bitter goodbye, but it doesn’t have to be. Quick, easy, filling, and with almost no utensils necessary, this family recipe seeks to satisfy sugar’s lingering call in a healthy, alternative way. Word to the wise; it doesn’t take more than one to get that fix.

Ingredients: ¼ cup of carob powder* ½ cup honey 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup powdered milk 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup coconut (shredded) * To substitute the carob with cocoa powder, replace one part cocoa with one and onehalf to two parts carob.

Instructions 1. Put all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

2. Use both hands to mix together until well blended. Make sure not to have any clumps.

3. Take palm-sized amounts and roll into a ball, placing into a storage container.

4. Put in the fridge and enjoy.

Recipe makes 18 carob balls.

If you need someone to talk to, please don’t hesitate to call the 24-hour Vancouver Island Crisis Line at 1-888-494-3888.

Honey, carob powder, and shredded coconut—nothing better than a healthy, gooey combination.

Catherine Charlebois

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The spoonful of sunshine caffeine alternative Molly Barrieau The Navigator Looking for a little pep in your step—a recharge on your system to keep you going through that 3 p.m. slump? This green drink will give you another reason to put that coffee away for a caffeine-free semester. I know it sounds scary, but I promise it will be worth it.

I really couldn’t tell you the last time I was in a McDonalds drive-thru or buying a Coke from a convenience store because I generally don’t crave it anymore. I moved out last year, and my dad took me to a health food store in search of an organic protein powder to add to my morning smoothies. What we left with (and what I can’t believe I let him spend so much money on) was “Sun Warrior Ormus SuperGreens”—a one pound bag of powder added to water in the morning for energy. This

stuff is unbelievable. I mean, try not to let the grainy, minty taste put you off, and sure, it is like chewing grass, but it is the best caffeine alternative for me. Personally, caffeine and sugar are short-lived, and getting nutrients via spinach, barley, alfalfa, wheat, and oat grass, with an added hint of stevia and peppermint feels like taking a sip of nature (and the reason my sister can’t stand the taste).

Cameron Diaz swears by her tall glass of cold water in the morning before food to hydrate and kickstart the metabolism.

Especially in the dry winter air, a glass of water before coffee can be super beneficial to your system. It only takes a spoonful a day to see the benefits in your gut, your skin, and your foggy semester brain.

When I protested because of the price, my frugal dad calculated how long the bag would last. For your money, this spoonful of sunshine will last you at least three months, and I can attest that one year later I have not come close to finishing (about 60 cents a day).

So, if you’re feeling bogged down, and your caffeine addiction is emptying your bank account, look out for greens, and kickstart your mornings.

Of course, other alternatives are available in health food stores, including flavours like berry and chocolate, and enriched versions for your specific needs. Adding a green drink to a healthy lifestyle this year could be the icing on your vegan, non-dairy, gluten-free cake of 2016.

Green is all you need to dispel that morning fog.

Courtesy of <sunwarrior.com>

Try something new: Campus Rec activities for every level Catherine Charlebois The Navigator With the semester off to a snowy start, signing up for Campus Rec activities might not seem as enticing as when the sun is shining on a balmy spring day. Though the weather might seem undecided lately, bad weather shouldn’t have to mean compromising your New Year’s resolution to get healthy. The spring 2016 Campus Rec calendar is chock full of activities that will inspire anyone to remain active through this mishmash weather.

Campus Rec offers four core options for the aspiring individual—daily activities with the Outdoor Recreation Program, weekly classes for the more routine-oriented, intramural sports, and multi-purpose rooms for the independent athlete. They also have Wellness Wednesdays, with mental health and healthy living activities, and programs offered to students throughout the semester.

When it comes to outdoor recreation, Campus Rec offers activities like caving, snow shoeing (perfect for this time of year), waterfall hiking, kayak rolling sessions, surfing day trips, and much more. Best of all, the transportation, instruction, and equipment is provided—all you have to do is show up with an open mind, ready to have fun. Another perk is that the programs run regardless of the weather, which means you won’t lose your money. They may adapt the activity to weather conditions, but you won’t have to face the disappointment that comes with cancelled plans. If you need to cancel, go to the front desk at the VIU gym to do so, but make sure to cancel seven calendar days in advance in order to get a full refund.

Activities aren’t restricted to students and faculty of VIU, and prices range from $30 to $60 for students, and a bit more for community members, with some activities being free. You can even bring a friend or family member with you—just remember to check with the instructor the Friday before the class runs.

For regularly scheduled classes, Campus Rec offers a wide range of high and low intensity weekly workouts. With many of them happening from Monday to Thursday, there’s no

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SPORTS & L I F EST Y L E

need to compromise your Friday night plans, with health and fitness to boot. Finding something you love by trying classes like Beginner Aikido, Zumba, Circus Yoga, and the Butts and Guts program just might be the key to maintaining your goals.

Joining an intramural team can be a great way to meet new people at the beginning of the semester. Anyone can register as a team or join an active team. Whether competitive or purely recreational, intramurals include indoor soccer, volleyball, and basketball teams, with tournaments like dodgeball and road hockey interspersed thoughout the semester. Intramurals on campus are accessible to the public as well as students.

Though registration is free, the use of the gym requires a small fee of $25 for students, $35 for faculty members, and $50 for members of the community.

If going by your own terms is more your thing, the VIU gym is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekends, with court rentals, multi-purpose rooms, and locker and towel rentals available. Students must present a valid VIU student card to use equipment, and user passes are free during enrollment.

Alumni can purchase a membership at a discounted rate with their alumni card, and community members can also purchase a membership.

Class enrollment spaces are limited and going fast, so make sure to sign up either online at <ca.apm.activecommunities. com/viucampusrec/Home> or in person at the VIU gym front desk in bldg. 190. Make sure to bring your student ID. For more information, please visit <viu.ca/campusrec>.

NAV IGATOR

Grab this handy guide from the gym to see all Campus Rec has to offer.

Courtesy of <viu.ca/campusrec>

#008

sports & lifestyle

nanaimo Clippers vs. powell river Kings

Reid Eccles Contributor Saturday, January 9: The Nanaimo Clippers downed the Powell River Kings 3-2. Clippers and British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) leading scorer Sheldon Rempal scored twice, including his 17th power play goal of the season. Clippers goaltender Evan Johnson shut the door in the final minutes to maintain the Clipper lead.

1

4

2 5

3 1 — 2-0 going into the first intermission.

2 — The Nanaimo Clippers hit the ice in Frank Crane Arena.

3 — Powell River goaltender Stefan Wornig, #35, getting bowled over.

4 — A trainer tends to an injured Powell River player.

5 — A footrace to the corner.

Photos 1-5

#008

NAV IGATOR

Reid Eccles

SPORTS & L I F EST Y L E

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Brandon Kornelson is a Sociology and History student. He hopes to become a journalist.

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January

SUN

MON

TUE

WED 13

17 Parksville Lions and Save On Foods Free Family Skate Oceanside Place Arena, 830 West Island Hwy, Parksville 12:15 – 1:45 p.m.

18 Silva Part II: “Booming Grounds” Nanaimo Art Gallery, 150 Commercial St. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

By donation

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THU 14

VIUSU Frost: Straight Outta Compton

VIUSU Frost: Pancake Breakfast

VIU Gym

Royal Bank Plaza

Doors 7:30 p.m.

8 – 11 a.m.

FREE

FREE

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21

Glow in the Dark Skate

Mom and Baby Yoga

Frank Crane Arena, 2300 Bowen Rd.

OmTown Yoga, 43 Commercial St.

6:30 – 8 p.m.

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

$7

$55

VIUSU Frost: Vancouver TheatreSports Malaspina Theatre Doors 6 p.m.

Students $5

FRI 15 Theory of a Deadman Cowichan Performing Arts Centre, 2687 James St, Duncan

SAT 16 Snowed In Comedy Tour Port Theatre, 125 Front St.

Doors 7:30 p.m.

Doors 8 p.m.

$45

$35

22 Moksha Yoga Class Moksha Yoga, 1881 Dufferin Cres.

8:30 – 9:30 p.m.

By donation

23 Western Edge Theatre: Venus in Fur Harbour City Theatre, 25 Victoria Rd. Doors 7:30 p.m.

Students $30

FREE

24 Sunday Blues Jam The Queens, 24 Victoria Cres.

Starts 4 p.m. $5

25 Legends of Rock’n’Roll Presents The Ultimate Tribute to the King The Port Theatre, 125 Front St. Doors 7:30 p.m. $49.50

26 VIUSU Frost: Free Skate Frank Crane Arena, 2300 Bowen Rd. 6 – 8:30 p.m.

FREE

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